The timing couldn't have been worse. With 1:49 left in regulation, just 40 seconds after the Lightning had taken the lead on the defending champ Blackhawks, Matt Carle inexplicably and forcefully fired a pass back at Radko Gudas. It deflected off a surprised Gudas's skate, skittering past Ben Bishop to knot the game at five.
Jonathan Toews, as the last Blackhawk to touch the puck, got credited with the goal. He'll take it. "Maybe the hockey gods were giving us that last one," Patrick Kane said.
This one had a happy ending, though, as the Lightning won in overtime. And since Chicago's in the other conference, Tampa doesn't have to feel guilty about handing them a point. Gudas, who assisted on Martin St. Louis's winner, was relieved. "Wow," he said. "I felt a lot better."